NIGERIA: Power Goes Off At Murtala International Airport, Passengers Pull Off Shirts

A prolonged power outage occured at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) causing a massive shutdown.

Flight operations were halted temporarily at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos after power supply to the terminal went off.

The outage was said to have lasted more five hours, before it was rectified by the engineers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

During the period, flight operations were slightly disrupted as airlines’ counter staff, profilers and others had to switch to manual, which slowed down operations.

A source close to the terminal said that some of the travellers had to use hand fans, while others, especially male passengers, resorted to removing their shirts.

The cause of the outage could not be ascertained, but FAAN attributed it to electrical fault.

A statement by Henrietta Yakubu, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, said the outage occurred at the D Wing of the airport.

The outage is due to a minor electrical fault, she said.

She further stated that the agency’s engineers were already working to rectify the fault, assuring the public that normalcy would be restored soon. She, however, said the outage did not affect flight operations at the airport, as normal flight operations continued uninterrupted.

The Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos was on Thursday hit by a temporary power outage which affected the D Wing of the terminal.

General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, said the power disruption was caused by a minor electrical fault.

Yakubu said: FAAN wishes to inform the general public of a temporary power outage at the D Wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The outage is due to a minor electrical fault.

Meanwhile, our engineers are already working to rectify the fault and normalcy will be restored soon.

She, however, explained that the outage did not affect flight operations at the nation’s busiest airport.

Yakubu said that FAAN remained committed to the safety and comfort of travellers at all times.

Aviation stakeholders had expressed concern over the ugly development and called on the Federal Government to create an independent power supply for the MMIA to befit its Category One status.


Tourism Observer

NIGERIA: Guards Return Bag Containing Huge Amount Of Dollars, People Call Them Stupid

Achi Daniel, a junior security guard at Halogen Securities Limited who returned a bag containing dollars, jewellery, wristwatches and other documents that he found at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Saturday, has revealed that some of his friends mocked him for his honesty.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos on Thursday during a ceremony held to honour him and his supervisor, Francis Emepueaku, Achi said it was not his first time returning lost money in the course of discharging his duty.

The security company also rewarded the duo: Daniel and Francis with education scholarships and the sum of N250,000.

He explained that he was never overwhelmed by the contents of the bag and vowed to do same if he finds himself in a similar situation in future.

He also told journalists that he was not discouraged by those who mocked him, stating that his Christian background aided his character.

He said: If the money was in multi-millions of foreign currencies, I would still have returned it. I saw the bag on a trolley and I said to myself that somebody must have forgotten it there. It was not padlocked and without opening it, I went to the ground floor with the bag to meet with my supervisor.

Inside the bag, I saw a mobile phone, jewellery and a huge amount of dollars, as well as several other documents. At that point, we went straight to the manager’s office, who then put a call through to somebody in Atlanta, Georgia, who happened to be the daughter of the owner of the bag.

When they returned, they were jittery that some of the items in the bag may have vanished, but after crosschecking it, she discovered that everything was intact.

The family attempted to give us some money as a form of appreciation, which we rejected, as we told them we were doing our job.

It never crossed my mind to steal the money and I wouldn’t have done that because it wasn’t my first time of finding such and returning to the owners.

No amount of money would make me to take what doesn’t belong to me. I believe my own time will come and at the right time.

He urged other Nigerians to emulate his character, insisting that it pays to be good.

Also speaking at the event, Engineer Saleh Dunoma, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said several related cases had been recorded at the nation’s airports.

Dunoma, who was represented at the event by Engr. Salisu Daura, Director of Engineering Services, FAAN, said the act gives credibility to the agency’s security profiling system.

He emphasised that the duo would forever be remembered in the history of the industry as role models, reference points, shinning lights and good ambassadors.

He said: Some others may look at you and tag you stupid; I want to assure you that by virtue of this act, you have secured seats for yourselves in the comity of those with credibility and integrity.

I hereby want to advise other staff to emulate this great virtue and become role models just like these two.

Also at the event was Dr. Banji Oyegbami, a medical practitioner and friend of the person whose bag was found. He had gone to the car park to pick up his friend and his family, who returned to the country for a burial programme.

According to him, he had parked on the first floor of the car park and waited for his guests to arrive, which took another one hour and the team moved towards the car park to commence their journey out of the airport.

However, after more than an hour of driving, his friend, whose name he declined to mention, received a call from his daughter in the United States about a bag that was found, which incidentally belonged to his wife.

He added:“It was only then that my friend's wife realised that her bag was missing. To confirm the information, I called the missing phone and it was picked.

The receiver confirmed that the bag was with him. He gave his name as Mr. Francis and that he is the supervisor of the park.

President Muhammadu Buhari has also commended the airport workers for their honesty.


Tourism Observer

NIGERIA: Kaduna Airport Ready For Flights, Says Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority,

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has announced that the Kaduna International Airport, Kaduna, KIAK, is now fit and ready for a 24-hour operation.

Sam Adurogboye, General Manager Public Affairs of NCAA, said in Lagos on Tuesday that the airport was ready for local and international flights.

Mr. Adurogboye explained that all necessary steps to ensure that the status of the airport as an alternative airport to the Abuja International Airport during the closure had been taken.

The Federal Government had announced the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, effective from midnight of Wednesday to allow for extensive repairs on the runway.

The NCAA official assured all passengers of safety and security in all airports in the country.

“The navigational aids have been well calibrated and fully functional to facilitate continuous smooth landings and takeoffs.

“Therefore, towards seamless flight operations in line with Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) all relevant departments and directorates with full complement of staff have been redeployed to Kaduna.”

Adurogboye said the Regional Managers of NCAA for Abuja and Kaduna offices were on ground to allow for smooth integration of the additional staff coming to Kaduna.

He said to sustain the safety and security of airline operations, a team of Aviation Safety Inspectors, ASI, from the Directorate of Airworthiness Standards, DAWS, had already moved to the airport.

Mr. Adurogboye said the Directorate of Consumer Protection, DCP, Directorate of Air Transport Regulations, DATR, Directorate of Aerodrome and Airspace Standard, DAAS, and Aviation Security Personnel were already at the airport.

The official named other agencies deployed as NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Customs and Exercise, and Nigerian Immigration Service.

Mr. Adurogboye said that a National Security Committee had been designed and approved for the security programme to cover the airport and its environs during the six weeks closure.

He noted that at the commencement of flights, the Ethiopian Airlines would be the first scheduled airline to arrive the Kaduna airport upon the closure of Abuja airport.

Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria To Grow Aviation in Africa

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has pledged the federal government’s commitment to playing a leading role in advocating collaboration among aviation stakeholders to address major challenges in the development of air transport sector in Africa.

Mr Yakubu Dati, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN revealed that the Managing Ddirector of FAAN, Mr. Saleh Dunoma, stated this while receiving the Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Sherif Fathy at FAAN exhibition stand at the 55th Airports Council International (ACI) Africa board meeting and Regional Conference and Exhibition in Cairo, Egypt.

According to Dunoma, “The federal government is attracting private investors to partner and work with the Government to explore the various opportunities in the sector.”

“Nigerian airports are playing important international roles in linking the most populous country in Africa to the rest of the world, and it is constructing four new terminals to increase its capacity for facilitation and processing,” he said.
Earlier, while declaring the conference open, Fathy said Egypt was planning to boost capacities of its key airports.

In his welcome address, ACI Africa president, Mr. Pascal Komla, noted that the conference provided a unique opportunity for aviation executives, experts and exhibitors across the globe to network, share information and forge a common vision for the future businesses of African airports.

NIGERIA: Arik Air Increases Frequency On Warri Route

Arik Air, Nigeria and West Africa’s largest carrier, has increased flight frequency on the Lagos-Warri and Abuja-Warri route, due to the temporary closure of Benin Airport by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Arik Air started, last Monday, to increase the frequency on the Lagos-Warri route to make three daily (Monday-Friday) flights.

Weekend (Saturday/Sunday) schedule has been increased from one to two flights. Similarly, the five weekly Abuja-Warri service has been increased with the addition of Saturday and Sunday flights.

The new schedule will be operated from June 22 to July 10, when the Benin Airport would be closed for repair works.

The additional Lagos-Warri flight will depart Lagos daily at 11:30 am and arrive in Warri at 12:30 pm. The inbound flight leaves Warri at 1:00 pm and arrives in Lagos at 2:00 pm. This is in addition to the early morning and late afternoon flights between Lagos and Warri